Philosophy 

What is the Middle School Philosophy?

At ICS, middle school and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) refer to grades 6, 7, and 8, a period of significant physical and emotional growth in children. Our outstanding educational program recognizes the diverse needs of this age group and is designed to provide for academic, social, and emotional development using a growth mindset approach. The Learner Profile is an integral part of our middle school culture and students understand their growth in their effort using those profile traits. We believe that at this age, focused effort is the key to academic achievement and social-emotional well-being. We challenge students to engage in authentic learning that promotes and develops the approaches to learning (ATL) skills necessary for students to be independent self-regulated learners for life. Together with our rigorous academics, we provide a rich social-emotional learning program through Advisory and we foster a strong sense of belonging through middle school community-focused events.

As an international community school focused on global citizenship we believe that diversity is a strength. We are a responsibly inclusive school and this provides our students with opportunities to foster understanding and celebrate differences.

Students engage in the learning process of inquiry, action, and reflection, facilitated by middle school teachers who work collaboratively in subject-specific teams to ensure that we meet our goals as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) school. A solid partnership between home and school is essential to each student’s success and middle teachers and administrators engage in regular and varied forms of communication with parents. Teachers are available to parents via email or individual appointments throughout the year. Students, as well as parents, are expected to access the Toddle platform for updates, assignments, and feedback on learning to stay informed on student achievements and progress. 

Our main mode of communication is the ICS Weekly and we ask that parents read it every week to keep apprised of what is happening within the division. Subject-specific information is communicated through the Toddle platform. 

At ICS we follow the ICS Way, which states: